Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Breaking the cycle of promotional ridiculousness at Jos. A. Bank is proving to be a far worse drag on sales and profits than parent company Men’s Wearhouse expected.

Men’s Wearhouse revealed the cost of breaking the promotional cycle at the acquired Jos. A. Bank stores on Nov. 6 when CEO Doug Ewert announced a huge downward revision to the combined company’s third quarter and full-year sales and profit outlook.

Now that its service has gained traction with retailers, on-demand delivery provider Instacart has created a new promotional platform for brands to connect with shoppers.

The New York attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Lowe's to refund up to 10% of flooring installation fees paid by more than 16,000 customers. The Associated Press reports that Lowe’s, with 64 New York stores, overcharged the customers with a deceptive sales practice that it has since agreed to halt. The retailer had offered installation of carpeting, tile, wood and laminate flooring by third-party contractors at square-foot rates that were applied to materials bought, not those actually installed.

Meijer is practically giving away roughly 1 million turkeys this thanksgiving to help generate store traffic and boost transaction size.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based operator of 223 stores said it planned to repeat a turkey promotion from last year that involved selling birds at half off as long as shoppers spend at least $20. The pricing discount applies to any size, brand or type of turkey. In the case of Meijer brand frozen turkeys, that means the price will be 52 cents a pound.

Holiday shoppers have high expectations of their online customer experience this year.

According to the new JDA 2015 Consumer Survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, 50% 0f respondents indicate that they will be unforgiving of retailers who provide less than satisfactory online home delivery experiences.

Price match guarantees and claims of fantastic deals have become passé, so Staples is employing a new promotional tactic this holiday season that speaks directly to its core customer.

Staples is making the same claims as virtually every other retailer about its great deals, convenient shopping and omnichannel capabilities. However, to take those claims a step further in a way that speaks to its core customers, Staples has created a limited duration promotion it’s calling the “Business Savings Event.”

Amazon.com is not waiting until Black Friday or even Thanksgiving Week to launch its deepest holiday discounts.

The e-commerce giant announced Monday that its Black Friday Deals store is now officially open. In addition, this year Prime members can access more than 30,000 Lightning Deals 30 minutes early, giving Prime members special, early access to deals.

eBay is targeting consumers across digital and physical channels this holiday season with a new online holiday hub and even in-person selling stations.

Through Jan. 1, 2016, eBay is running a multifaceted holiday campaign called “Wish Bigger.” A central feature is a holiday-specific shopping site, eBay.com/holidays, which will offer features such as a soon-to-launch holiday heat map that will track what eBay customers are wishing and shopping for coast-to-coast on a weekly basis.

Amazon.com is famous for launching new services and solutions at a dizzying rate, but the online retail giant is quietly preparing to close one down.

In an announcement posted on the Amazon Local daily deals site, the retailer says it will stop deals on the site and app as of Dec. 18. Amazon Local will continue business as normal until that date. Amazon Local purchase vouchers will remain valid for five years from purchase date as required by law in all 50 states.

Target has an aggressive new plan to lure shoppers this holiday season that includes free shipping on all orders and a new international website.

The plan is part of Target CEO Brian Cornell’s efforts to restructure the company and revamp its digital and in-store offerings. Free shipping starts Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 25.